It’s been a while since I’ve shot floral images and after this morning’s project, I remember how much I love doing it. The trend of moody floral are fun and easy to accomplish. There are different ways you can shoot moody floral and it’s not expensive whatsoever. Today, I’ll explain 2 ways to achieve this look.

Things you’ll need:

Camera

Lens

Tripod

Flowers

Vase

Dark background (fabric or cardboard, I used black poster board)

Flash light (I used the torch feature on my iPhone)

I used my Canon 5D Mark III, my 24-70mm and 100mm lens.

So here we go…

Artificial Light

First method of shooting moody floral is light painting. Here, I have my subject (flowers) on a dark surface and the black poster board in the back. In a completely dark room, I put my camera on a tripod and switched to manual focus. My camera settings are at 15 second shutter, f/6.3, ISO 100. Using my phone light (torch) I set my focus using liveview, and click. During the 15 seconds, I point my torch towards the flowers and click on and off (remember never to cross in front of your lens), getting different angles and playing around with where I think the light would look best. The picture above I pointed the torch directly above and in front the subject. Play around with the light. This method, you have more control of where the light source is coming from and how much light to use.

Natural Light

The second way is to use natural light. This method takes a little more time to setup and manipulate the light. I put the subject about 3 feet away from a window with no deffuser. My camera is still on the tripod and camera setting were changed to 1/10 second shutter, f/ 3.2, ISO 100. I sped up the shutter as there was more light in the room. I opened my aperture as I added another element to the photo and wanted it out of focus. Again, working in manual focus, set your focus and click. You can also use black poster board to further manipulate the light focusing on just one area of your subject or your whole subject. I just used my blackout curtains to let more light in and out.

This was my morning setup for the shoot. All items are very cheap and easy to obtain. No need for expensive backdrops, props or stands. Easy setup and take down as well.

And there you have it! Two different moody floral looks, using two different methods to accomplish. Of course you can do so much more, but I was up at 5am and needed to stop shooting to eat breakfast. Next up, Dave and I will be setting these flowers on fire! More to come on that shoot.

P.s. Below are more images using the methods above. ENJOY! and let me see what you’ve created!